HbA1c & Cholesterol red flags - what should I do?

[Pot Bellied Fool]

Yo all!

Had a bit of an MOT at the Doc as I was having some odd abdo pains.

The NHS app pinged just now & they've booked me a telephone consult tomorrow but I can see the test results on the app. The poo sample etc was all clear for anything nasty going on which is good but I can see that Cholesterol is high, triglycerides are well up and my HbA1c is firmly in diabetes territory at 72. Oh fk.

I'm 57 and overweight, although steadily losing it after the chaos of a house move seems to have led to less snacking

Looking online for advice on lowering these is a bit of a minefield of navigating snake-oil merchants so looking for some advice from others in a similar leaking boat. I'd sooner address this through lifestyle than pills if possible.

Obviously I'll be talking to the Doc tomorrow but knowledge is a good thing and I'm acutely aware that GPs have very little time to spend on filling in the gaps.

Cheers.

[TedStriker]

Keto diet has worked well for a few of my friends of similar age and condition. Lost a lot of weight and got diabetes under control.

[craigjm]

Exercise more
Sleep more
Stop smoking
Stop drinking
Cut sugar
Limit carbs
Get your fat intake from good fats

If you consider a lifestyle diet like keto above remember that you need to stick to it for life and for many people thats hard. You are better making small changes in all the areas above than trying to move to a radical diet

Edited by craigjm on Tuesday 20th August 12:10

[Huzzah]

They'll ask you to see a dietician anyway

I've been T1 for 45 yrs, I don’t see the need for 'special' diets, just a change to daily food routines. Eat moderate amounts of everything. For instance avoid doughnuts and stuff, but the occasional one won't do you any harm. Carbs aren't all bad (in moderation), but try to avoid things that spike your blood glucose levels. The dietician should discuss the glycemic index with you too. (not all carbs are equal)

Good luck, if portions are big (most peoples are) cut down, eat everything but more of the good stuff (vegetables, proteins) and less of the bad (stodge). If you don’t enjoy your diet you won't stick to it so compromise.

Edited by Huzzah on Tuesday 20th August 12:50

[lizardbrain]

at least 2 hours of zone 2 cardio a week is a good start

[WyrleyD]

Time restricted eating and a diet containing less than 30g of carbs per day, I went from diabetic (68) to non-diabetic (40) in 6 months, also I go to the gym 3 times a week for 2 hours doing resistance and cardio. My triglycerides went down to normal and my HDL went up to normal although my LDL is considered high but they can't tell me what in the LDL is "high" - is it small dense LDL (bad), VLDL, or large fluffy LDL (good). I'm having a full lipid profile done privately in October which will tell me in great detail of the breakdown of all the different parts of LDL to see whether I'm a candidate for a heart attack or not.

Forgot to add - There are some Docs on YT that can provide good metabolic health info such as Ben Bikman, Sten Ekberg, Robert Cywes, Robert Lustig, i also dip occasionally into the Doctor Boz videos.

Edited by WyrleyD on Tuesday 20th August 12:45

[RSTurboPaul]

Massive bowls of 'whole rolled oats' porridge might be good for lowering cholesterol due to the beta-glucan in it.

And it is low GI.

[Pot Bellied Fool]

Thanks all, some good info in there although I haven't got a clue what Zone 2 gym stuff is!

Don't smoke and don't drink to excess these days.

Am I right that it's more the carbs than the absolute sugars that I need to watch? No more toast for breakfast and better get used to coffee with no sugar...

[SteveKTMer]

craigjm said:

Exercise more
Sleep more
Stop smoking
Stop drinking
Cut sugar
Limit carbs
Get your fat intake from good fats

If you consider a lifestyle diet like keto above remember that you need to stick to it for life and for many people thats hard. You are better making small changes in all the areas above than trying to move to a radical diet

Edited by craigjm on Tuesday 20th August 12:10

I was going to post a reply but you've already said most of what I was going to say.

To OP, I reversed my T2 diabetes in 2023, just using sensible diet and exercise. My diet is zero sugar, zero alcohol, very few carbs, near enough vegan apart from white fish occasionally, no dairy and certainly no meat. Lots of water. Exercise 2 or 3 times a week, mostly cardio, got a personal trainer and she's been brilliant, possibly the best money I've spent. Just getting back into it after a heart attack last December caused by kidney problem.

I'd recommend anybody being aware of their blood sugar levels, you can buy a tester from any chemist, little finger prink device and a meter. Same for blood pressure - again get a device from a chemist. Just so you know what it is. If you get any sudden changes, you know something is starting to go wrong.

[Huzzah]

Pot Bellied Fool said:

Thanks all, some good info in there although I haven't got a clue what Zone 2 gym stuff is!

Don't smoke and don't drink to excess these days.

Am I right that it's more the carbs than the absolute sugars that I need to watch? No more toast for breakfast and better get used to coffee with no sugar...

If you can take drinks unsweetened then that's a good thing. Typically my breakfast is a small banana (20g of carbs) and a small slice of toast (10g of carbs) bread is about 50% carbohydrate.

[SteveKTMer]

Pot Bellied Fool said:

Thanks all, some good info in there although I haven't got a clue what Zone 2 gym stuff is!

Don't smoke and don't drink to excess these days.

Am I right that it's more the carbs than the absolute sugars that I need to watch? No more toast for breakfast and better get used to coffee with no sugar...

There are several books on Amazon about reversing diabetes, not read them myself but might be a good place to start - you're asking the same questions I did a few years ago and the answer isn't simple.

[Pot Bellied Fool]

Thanks. This is the great side of PH.

TBH, felt quite wobbly with it all. It's one thing suspecting what might be lurking but quite another to be confronted with it. And it really helps to hear from others.

Thanks all.

[WyrleyD]

Pot Bellied Fool said:

Thanks all, some good info in there although I haven't got a clue what Zone 2 gym stuff is!

Don't smoke and don't drink to excess these days.

Am I right that it's more the carbs than the absolute sugars that I need to watch? No more toast for breakfast and better get used to coffee with no sugar...

Normal sugar (brown or white) is 50% glucose and 50% fructose, fruit has a lot of fructose but can be metabolised more easily if it's berries (raspberries, strawberries and blackberries) as these have a lot of fibre too. Glucose can be absorbed by the cells but fructose cannot and goes straight to the liver and is the main cause of non-alcoholic liver disease. Excess carbs will cause T2 diabetes via insulin resistance where the cells can no longer accept glucose because the insulin can no longer unlock the cell to accept the glucose so it just stays in the blood as excess glucose., hence high A1c.

[Stella Tortoise]

I was in a similar position in 2021, Dr said my HBA1C was 106!

Within 6 months I was down to 37, all cholesterol markers within tolerance as well.

I went very low carb for that 6 months and lost 3 stone in the process. I have since introduced some carbs in small amounts and tried to only eat brown bread or low GI rice/pasta ever since.

My latest reading was 40 which I am happy with.

As an aside, I have since put the weight back on and feel better for it. When I lost the weight I felt st, no energy and found it hard to concentrate. Don't know why and is probably unrelated.

The dietitian advised against low carb and was punting some sort of balanced diet to me.

[lizardbrain]

Pot Bellied Fool said:

Thanks all, some good info in there although I haven't got a clue what Zone 2 gym stuff is!

Don't smoke and don't drink to excess these days.

Am I right that it's more the carbs than the absolute sugars that I need to watch? No more toast for breakfast and better get used to coffee with no sugar...

It just means gentle excercise, enough to make you slightly breathless. Probably anything above walking on the flat will get you close

[Pot Bellied Fool]

Stella Tortoise said:

I was in a similar position in 2021, Dr said my HBA1C was 106!

Within 6 months I was down to 37, all cholesterol markers within tolerance as well.

That's incredible!

[gus607]

6 years ago my hba1c was 79, i cut the carbs & went down to 39, been in remission 5 years just keep an eye on what i eat & drink.

[272BHP]

The easiest change to make is to have one day a week of no food ie Sun evening meal to Mon evening meal no food. The difference this one change can make to health markers in just 8 weeks is quite astonishing.

A bit trickier for many is get something like the following set up as normal behaviour:

- Take up weight training at least 2 days a week
- Get some kind of cardio in 6 days a week - start slow, build it up
- Try to eat better most of the time, learn how to do this

All the above will turn everything around within 6 months.

[DaveGrohl]

WyrleyD said:

Time restricted eating and a diet containing less than 30g of carbs per day, I went from diabetic (68) to non-diabetic (40) in 6 months, also I go to the gym 3 times a week for 2 hours doing resistance and cardio. My triglycerides went down to normal and my HDL went up to normal although my LDL is considered high but they can't tell me what in the LDL is "high" - is it small dense LDL (bad), VLDL, or large fluffy LDL (good). I'm having a full lipid profile done privately in October which will tell me in great detail of the breakdown of all the different parts of LDL to see whether I'm a candidate for a heart attack or not.

Forgot to add - There are some Docs on YT that can provide good metabolic health info such as Ben Bikman, Sten Ekberg, Robert Cywes, Robert Lustig, i also dip occasionally into the Doctor Boz videos.

Edited by WyrleyD on Tuesday 20th August 12:45

Lots more educators like them, sounds like you’re along the right lines there getting a full lipid profile. Triglycerides and HBA1C are the important bits anyway. Be good to hear how you get on. It’s in a while I know, I’ll have forgotten by then lol.

[DaveGrohl]

Pot Bellied Fool said:

Yo all!

Had a bit of an MOT at the Doc as I was having some odd abdo pains.

The NHS app pinged just now & they've booked me a telephone consult tomorrow but I can see the test results on the app. The poo sample etc was all clear for anything nasty going on which is good but I can see that Cholesterol is high, triglycerides are well up and my HbA1c is firmly in diabetes territory at 72. Oh fk.

I'm 57 and overweight, although steadily losing it after the chaos of a house move seems to have led to less snacking

Looking online for advice on lowering these is a bit of a minefield of navigating snake-oil merchants so looking for some advice from others in a similar leaking boat. I'd sooner address this through lifestyle than pills if possible.

Obviously I'll be talking to the Doc tomorrow but knowledge is a good thing and I'm acutely aware that GPs have very little time to spend on filling in the gaps.

Cheers.

Don’t stress about your cholesterol, most docs don’t understand it anyway just defer to the guidelines which are decades wrong.
Do stress about your triglycerides and HBA1c though, good to hear they bothered to test for triglycerides. Well, don’t stress actually obvs.

Simples. Cut back on UPFs as much as possible and you’re halfway there. Eat real food, inc real protein and real fats. These will provide long-term satiety instead of the crap you’ve been eating that actually makes you hungry.
Reduce sugars and starches, but don’t need to avoid completely. Above ground veg aplenty, and some fruit, but make it fruit not juice. Very important that. Full fat dairy. Avoid anything "low fat" like the plague. Job done.